Sinful Biker

by Terri Lane

  "Who's spent more time listening in science class, me or you?"

  As I teased him, he grabbed hold of his text book, accidently brushing his fingers against mine. Electricity bolted right through my system as our skin connected, and as our eyes met I could see that he felt it too. Despite all the odds being stacked against us, there really seemed to be something there.

  Maybe my dream really was going to come true! I didn’t know how I felt about it, my fantasy becoming reality. Would it live up to my expectations? Oh my God, would it be even better? I wouldn’t turn it down if the opportunity arose though, I sure as hell wasn’t that crazy.

  We'd been working on the project for days now, finding more and more excuses to spend time together doing it. I'd never seen him so dedicated to his work before, and with Sara constantly in my ear telling me that equaled love, I was becoming increasingly inclined to believe her. There had to be some reason he kept wanting to hang out, didn’t there?

  "Hey there, handsome." I had to keep my eye roll to myself as Tiana draped herself all over him. Much as it really pissed me off, I noticed her doing it specifically when he was around me, giving me hope. If she was jealous, that only strengthened the possibility that there was something real. If that was the case, I could suck it up and ignore it... mostly. "How's it going? Why the hell are you hanging out in the library?"

  "Same reason you are." He patted her butt and smirked, which sent my temper flying. It was bad enough to see her flirting with him, I could justify that in my brain, but seeing him doing it back was almost too much to bear. He was a bad boy, I'd seen that playing out from afar for years, but that didn’t mean I had to like it. Especially not now that I was so invested myself. "Well, maybe not. You're just loitering. I'm actually trying to get some work done."

  "Urgh, that boring science stuff? Why not just leave it to your partner like I am? Nerds love this stuff."

  I wanted to protest, to argue back, to insist that ‘nerds’ knew they had to do it because it was best, but I was too shy for that. Instead I slid further down my seat as my face flamed painfully. Tiana had such a scathing way of dealing with things, which she made even worse by not even offering me a cursory glance.

  "Come on T, I'm working here. Some of us actually want to graduate, you know?"

  She pouted her lips, and threw her hands on her hips, waiting for him to offer her some reassurance, but he didn't. He stood his ground, and stuck with me. For some reason, I felt oddly proud of him for that. It wasn't easy to want to be academic in this school, for some reason people viewed it as uncool, but he was bypassing that and sticking up for me at the same time.

  As she flounced off, temper radiating off her shoulders, Adam turned back to me and gave me that gorgeous grin, as if he hadn't just been flirting with someone else in front of me. The heated look he sent my way warmed up my insides, and I forgave every inch of him. He could do what he wanted, as long as he still liked me at the end of it.

  "Come on then, if you're so clever. Please enlighten me more on what happens in science class while I'm not listening."

  I chuckled loudly and delved back into the task at hand with Adam. I wasn't sure why, but I had the really strong sense that if we did a good job on this project, he'd cave to the sizzling chemistry I was certain floated between us, and he'd finally kiss me.

  Of course, I could've just kissed him, but little Miss Invisible was far too scared for that...

  *

  20th September 2016

  So far, so good.

  It hadn't been easy to avoid Adam, he had a commanding, domineering presence that seemed to consume every damn room of the place, and with him sleeping so close to me, with only two doors and a hallway separating us, it was incredibly difficult to forget he was around, but I was doing my best. By keeping my head down, and focusing only on the task at hand, I was just about surviving it.

  That was until today.

  "Hello again, Jenna."

  I didn't need to turn around to know that it was him, but I was undeniably curious as to why he was all of a sudden so interested in talking to me. To be honest I’d been pretty certain that he was avoiding me just as much as I was him. "Hello, Sir." I put an emphasis on that last word, almost forcing him to react. Much as I hated this whole messy situation, I didn't like bypassing our past either. It had been important to me, even if he wanted to forget it, I couldn't.

  A throaty chuckle burst out of Adam's throat, but he didn’t acknowledge it like I kind of wanted him to. Why wasn’t he talking about it? Just a little mention would at least mean he gave a shit.

  At that moment, the elevator pinged and the doors burst open, revealing a very empty inside. I sighed with relief, it was challenging enough to heave this stupid cleaning cart in there without anyone else taking up room. Plus, I was looking forward to leaving this oddness behind.

  "Here, let me help you."

  I certainly didn't want Adam that close to me, especially when it simply highlighted the acute differences that had always been there between us—his wealth and my... nothing—but he continued on with it all the same. He shoved the cart forwards as if it weighed nothing, which couldn't have been further from the truth, then waved for me to step inside.

  That should've been the end of it, but then he followed behind me, making my whole body shudder to a halt. This was the closest we'd been since the very first day he came back, and I didn't like the way it made me feel. My entire being was confused, a part of me wanted to reach out and grab him like I always used to be able to, but another part of me wanted to shut down completely.

  To try and stop all of that, I turned away from him. If I didn't look at him, all would be okay. If I could just pretend that I was alone, then it wouldn’t be too bad...

  As the elevator ascended to the top floor, I had horrific visions of a blackout, an electricity fault, anything to stick us together in this terribly confined space, but it didn't happen. Somehow, completely drama free, the elevator stopped, the doors opened, and both of us stepped outside, causing me to gasp out a breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding.

  "Hold on," Adam grabbed onto my arm. "Let me help you."

  "I've been carting this damn thing around for a decade," I spat back without really thinking. "I don't need your help now." For some strange reason, my breaths were coming out sharp and ragged, like I'd been running for hours. My fitness levels weren't what they once were, but I hadn't even done any walking!

  "Okay, I know. I guess..." he trailed off, his strong face faltering for just a second. "Never mind."

  What? I screamed in my mind. Just say it, please! Just say something.

  But he didn't, he turned his back on me and started to walk away.

  "Jenna, are you up by guest room 316?" Deana's voice burst through my radio, making me jump with shock. "The guest is complaining that the lock on the door doesn't work, and I can't get hold of the maintenance guy... what's him name again? Anyway, it doesn't matter, I just want them to see a face so they know we're on it."

  "Why can't she get her ass up here?" Adam muttered while turning back around, which almost made me laugh. Clearly he had yet to learn that all Deana did was bark orders.

  "I'll do it," I told Deana. "I'm practically there now."

  "Well, I'm coming with you," Adam told me decisively as I tucked the radio back into the waistband of my dress. "They want to see a face, they can see the hotel owner."

  As I followed behind him, feeling small and silly, I wondered what all of this attention suddenly meant. I guess Adam always confused me, but back then it was mixed with teenage hormones, time was supposed to make it different.

  Everything was supposed to be different. Why hadn’t being an adult kicked in yet?

  "Huh, it doesn't seem like anyone's here after all," Adam announced gleefully as he shoved the door open. "The lock can't be that much of an issue."

  What I should've done is turned and walked away, left him to it now that he was here, but I didn't. I follow
ed him inside and pressed my face up to the lock as if I was going to actually do something about it. "I guess it's probably a little rusty..." I pouted my lip out doubtfully. I don't know what the hell Deana thought that she was doing sending me here, except for the fact that she obviously couldn't be bothered to come herself.

  Adam slammed the door shut, then sent me a wink. He kept his eyes on me as he twisted the door knob confidently, so I could see the exact moment his mood turned from playful to unadulterated fear. "Oh my God," he gasped, shock filling his face. "It really is stuck."

  I fell backwards, my butt hitting the bedsheets as I watched him struggle with it. This was a nightmare, the worst possible scenario, and I had no idea what to do. If I thought that getting stuck with Adam in the elevator would be bad, this intimate setting—although more spacious—was somehow so much worse.

  "Should I tell Deana?"

  “Nah,” he grinned and winked at me, spreading the sickness further through me. “Why don’t we just take a time out from this place for a while.”

  I stared at him, open mouthed, shock rendering me speechless. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but I knew that if I wanted to remain strong, if I wanted to claw back some of the control, then I needed to shock him into wanting to leave too.

  “Okay fine,” my voice was trembling, but I kept my face strong. “But if we’re going to be stuck in here, then we need to talk about what happened.”

  *

  2nd June 2006

  I couldn’t stop staring at Adam out of the corner of my eye, even though my gaze was supposed to be on the screen in front of me. This was the very first time Adam had asked me out in a non-school project way, and my mind was desperately trying to work out what that meant.

  We were at a movie, sharing popcorn, his hand continually brushed mine, but I still didn’t know if this was a friend thing, or a date. Sara had insisted that it was definitely a romantic thing, but she didn’t know Adam as well as I did, it was possible that he just wanted to be nice.

  “I love that guy, what’s his name?” he hissed at me, his breath tantalizingly tickling my cheek. His fingers pointed towards the screen forcing me to glance back at it.

  “Oh erm, I don’t know.” My heart raced frantically, and I blinked a bit too much. I had no idea what the plot even was, never mind who each actor was up on the screen. “I don’t think I’ve seen him in anything before.”

  Where did I put my hands? Why were my shoulders so hunched up? Was I breathing too loudly? I’d never been so acutely aware of myself before, and it wasn’t a pleasant sensation.

  I was also very aware of every inch of Adam too, which I much preferred to focus on. He had an intense heat, I could feel a zinging, a buzzing between us, he made my heart really swell with love. And it didn’t even feel like puppy love, I was pretty sure that what we had was the real deal.

  “Right, that’s the credits.” As Adam stood up, I couldn’t stop my eyes from running down his body. He was muscular and sinewy, and he wore the sort of designer clothing that clung perfectly to his body as if it were tailored just for me. “Shall we get going?”

  I didn’t want to leave, I wasn’t ready for this incredible night to be over, but it had to end at some point. The only issue was what would happen next? If this was just a friendship thing, a hug or handshake would suffice, but if this was a date, then a kiss could happen.

  Adam had kissed girls before, he had a lot of experience in that area, it was well known in our school, whereas I hadn’t even cuddled a boy. I had no idea what I was doing. I had no clue when it came to the technicalities, never mind actual technique. I had genuine fears that I wouldn’t match up to what Adam had explored in the past, and that terrified me to no end.

  “Yeah, okay,” I practically whispered as I imitated his body language. “Let’s go.”

  “Oh my God, that action scene with the flipping car was insane!”

  Adam was happy, excited, talking non-stop about the film, whereas I could barely breathe. It was as if something was squeezing tightly on my lungs, reminding me of all the reasons why I’d never been good enough for Adam Martin. Just because he seemed to like spending time with me, didn’t mean I should get carried away... should it?

  “So, is this your home?”

  I got so carried away, so lost inside my own mind that I didn’t even realize that we’d made it all the way to my street. “Oh no, it’s a little further down, but this is fine, thank you.”

  I stared up at him, drinking in his beautiful, dimpled smile, my pulse rate flickering wildly. He always boiled my blood in the best way possible, but this time it was even more intense. I had the feeling that there was something important going on behind his eyes, something that he wanted to discuss with me, but silently.

  I just wished that I wasn’t too obtuse to hear it.

  “I had a really nice time,” Adam murmured, moving his body closer to mine. There was a small distance between us, but I could feel a hum, a vibration pouring off of him. He might as well have been curved right around me for the way he was making me feel. “Thank you for agreeing to come out with me.”

  “Yeah, of course.” Did he actually think that I wouldn’t? Could he not see how pathetically in love with him I was? I felt like it was painted across my forehead like a neon sign. “Thank you for inviting me.”

  Okay, he was definitely going to kiss me, his torso was touching mine, his hand working its way up to hold my cheek, plus it was written across his face. He liked me, it was all there, however unbelievable it was. I didn’t know whether to run, to push Adam off, or to finally get what I’d always wanted.

  Then his lips crashed against mine, leaving me totally out of options. My breath zapped right out of my body, my heart literally stopped, the entire world shrunk down to only me and Adam. The boy of my dreams had his lips softly pressed against mine, sparks flew everywhere, everything was perfect. He heated me up, calmed me down, sent my body flying higher than air.

  It seemed like it was a date after all, and one that I desperately hoped would lead to hundreds more...

  *

  20th September 2016

  Admittedly, Adam recovered impressively quickly, and his expression turned from one of shock to a big, beaming smirk.

  “Oh yeah? So, you want to talk about us do you?” He moved closer to me, which compelled me to stand back up again. I didn’t want to be at any disadvantage if I could help it. “How about how the last decade has been good to you, how you’ve grown into a seriously smoking hot woman?”

  His hand touched my flaming cheek, which I flinched rapidly back from. I didn’t want him saying those things, or touching me, even if it did make my heart race. I wanted to talk about the real stuff. Obviously, it wasn’t always rainbows and freaking puppy dogs between us, or we wouldn’t have ended up in the situation we were in—almost strangers, staring at each other as if we didn’t know where to turn next. We were once so close that nothing could’ve torn us apart.

  “No, you know what I want to discuss.”

  “About how all I’ve wanted to do is get my hands on you, ever since I first saw you.”

  He stepped closer again, undeterred by my blatant rejection, and I felt his soft fingers brushing against my thigh. Only gently, and not for long at all, but it awoke the dragon of deep desire that I’d locked away many years ago. New, unexpected sensations fluttered and danced in my chest.

  “Are we going to talk about how you’re the only one who’s ever made me feel this way.”

  There it was, some acknowledgement of the past. My brain was swimming, drowning in everything that he was making me feel, but somehow that managed to get through. If I did my best to focus on that, rather than what he was doing to me, then I at least had a small chance at remaining strong.

  “So, why don’t we both stop fighting it?” He thought he had me, I could see it written all over him. “Why don’t we just give in, now, while we have a room to ourselves.”

  God, I hated t
o admit it, even to myself, but that was tempting. I bit down on my lip as I recalled how good it felt to have Adam in my arms. He always made me feel special, that I was worthy, that I was desirable. I hadn’t realized it until that very moment but it’d been a long time since I’d felt that good... a decade in fact. Ever since the final time I saw Adam. I knew that I could do it, I could tumble back onto the sheets and let him have me screaming like there was no tomorrow. I wanted him now even more than I did then, because the years had been so incredible to him as well. He wasn’t a boy anymore, he was a man, and I wanted to explore the body of that man...

  But no. There were certain things I needed to know first. This wasn’t a normal situation, this needed clarification. I turned my back away from him, unable to look at his face anymore. I was okay when I couldn’t see him, it made my thoughts so much clearer.

  “Adam, I have to know something,” I told him softly, sliding my eyes shut and I prepared to unlock the box I’d kept shut for many years. “I need to know why you left me.”

  He sighed deeply. But didn’t say anything. I could sense him pacing the room, each step as indecisive as the last. I almost wanted to spin around and comfort him, I almost felt bad for dragging up the dead bodies of what had happened, but we couldn’t do any of this without at least acknowledging that things had gone wrong.

  An ice-cold shiver raced up and down my spine as the seconds continued to tick past. The air was thick with tension, I could barely suck any of it back into my lungs it was that bad, causing a heaviness to overcome me.

  This was potentially going to be our only chance to get this sorted. Once we left this room, any opportunity to make things right went with it. We would probably go back to ignoring one another in the hallways.

  Eventually I couldn’t stand it anymore, I needed to know, my heart was aching under the sheer desperation. I spun on my heels, and slowly lifted my eyes off the ground to look at the one man who held all the answers. Our eyes connected, a sharp bolt of lightning tore right through me, and with that all sensibilities simply flew out the window, and that magnetism drew me back in. I didn’t even realize I was moving towards him until our bodies connected.